Williamson County leads Tennessee in early voting. Here's why.

A group of people vote at the Brentwood Library polling location on Thursday, August 2, 2018, in Brentwood, Tenn. The election will decide who will represent the Republican and Democratic parties in the November general election. The races include Governor, U.S. Senate and county commissioners.(Photo: Mark Zaleski/ For The Tennessean)Buy Photo

Williamson County is among the top counties in the state in terms of turnout during early voting for this year's midterm election.

As of Wednesday night, with one day remaining for early voting, more than 43 percent of registered voters in Williamson cast a ballot, inching closer to the 54 percent turnout in early voting during the 2016 presidential election.

You can cast your ballot for early voting in Williamson until 6 p.m. Thursday.

"This really is trending more like presidential turnout, as far as when voters are voting," said Williamson County Election Administrator Chad Gray. "At this point, I think we're probably going to get close to 46 percent (for early voting)."

Early voting turnout around the state for this year's election is only narrowly trailing the percentage of early votes cast ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Presidential elections typically produce higher turnouts than midterms.

But this year marks a stark contrast in Williamson County residents' voting patterns from the last midterm elections.

In 2014, early voting turnout in Williamson was 18.6 percent. Election Day turnout that year was 25 percent, bringing the total to roughly 44 percent.

Suburban voters key

If it seems like voters in Tennessee's wealthiest county are more engaged, that's likely related to campaign strategies targeting suburban voters.

In the race for U.S. Sen. Bob Corker's seat, for example, Williamson County has been a key battleground for GOP Congressman Marsha Blackburn and former Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat.

Despite Congressman Marsha Blackburn's prominence in Williamson County, where she lives, polls from earlier in the campaign found that a majority of suburban respondents said they would vote for Bredesen, who said in August that suburban women are "probably one of the keys" to winning that race.

The Tennessee gubernatorial race also has strong Williamson County ties. Republican candidate and businessman Bill Lee grew up in the county and is consistently polling as that race's front runner ahead of Democrat and former Nashville mayor Karl Dean.

People arrive to vote at the Brentwood Library polling location on Thursday, August 2, 2018, in Brentwood, Tenn. The election will decide who will represent the Republican and Democratic parties in the November general election. The races include Governor, U.S. Senate and county commissioners.(Photo: Mark Zaleski/ For The Tennessean)

Turnout reminiscent of 2006, 1994 midterms

This year's midterm turnout is similar to the November 2006 midterms, which had its own share of high-profile races.

Voter turnout in 2006 was over 56 percent in Williamson County. Of that amount, 46 percent of people cast their ballots during early voting, Gray said.

"This one's a little harder to nail down," he said.

In 2006, Republican Sen. Bob Corker beat Democrat Harold Ford Jr. for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Republican Bill Frist, who retired.Then-Gov. Phil Bredesen also won his re-election bid the same year, beating challenger and Republican State Sen. Jim Bryson by a wide margin.

Williamson County also saw high voter turnouts in the November 1994 midterms, shortly after the Tennessee Early Voting Act went into effect and ensured voters would have 15 days to cast a vote early at one of their county's satellite locations.

That year saw 66 percent of voter turnout, with just 21 percent of those ballots cast during early voting, Gray said.

The 1994 midterms, at the center of the "Contract with America" campaign headed by then-Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, resulted in Republican majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate and was dubbed the "Republican Revolution."

That year also marked the start of a political shift in Tennessee that led to its emergence as a conservative stronghold.

Republican Don Sundquist beat Bredesen in the governor's race that year (though Bredesen would later win two terms as governor).

Incumbent U.S. Sen Jim Sasser, a Democrat, lost his re-election bid that year to Republican Bill Frist. And Republican Fred Thompson beat Rep. Jim Cooper that year to fill the Senate seat vacated by Al Gore when he became vice president.